The Alamo Colleges tenure procedure is explained in D.2.5.5 Faculty Tenure Process.

Required contents for the Tenure Dossier are outlined in the Table of Contents document.

The Tenure Procedure for Northwest Vista College is outlined in this presentation.

All guidelines and documents related to tenure at NVC.

The Introductory Report on Tenure explains how the Alamo Colleges' position on tenure has changed over the years.

Employment is an agreement between the Alamo Community College District (ACCD) and an employee that the employee will provide certain services on the job, in the College District designated workplace, to facilitate the accomplishment of the District institutional goals and mission, in return for compensation.

The agreement can be verbal, implied, or an official employment contract. In employment, the College District determines the where, when, how, why, and what of the work that is performed by the employee. The degree of input, autonomy and self-directedness that an employee experiences on the job is a by-product of the District’s philosophy of management and employment.

In the United States, much of an employment relationship between an employer and employee is governed by the needs, profitability, and management philosophy of an employer as well as the availability of employees. Increasingly, however, Federal and state laws are enacted which direct the employment relationship and decrease the autonomy of employers.

Employment ends at the prerogative of the Alamo Colleges District or the employee.

The NVC Faculty Senate is also a good resource to learn more about promotion and tenure.

Update 09/07/2022 from Cindy Katz, Executive Faculty Council Faculty Fellow:

"Tenure Proposal: EFC Co-chairs Aaron Prado and Judah Leggett and VPAS Beth Tanner presented our work to the Board of Trustees on May 17^th. The presentation can be found at Board Video May 17 beginning at 2:42:05. After executive session the board came back with the following charge…The Board of Trustees authorized and directed the chancellor to develop a proposal for the opportunity for full-time, non-temporary faculty to qualify for annually renewed (“rolling”) multi-year contracts that is informed by the EFC proposal and report back his plan for implementation to the Board by the September 2022 Regular Board Meeting for implementation in academic year 2023-2024…Since that time we continued the conversation between faculty representatives and district and college administration about what this new procedure will feature.

It became clear at these meetings that tenure was off the table for legal reasons and our recommendations were denied by administration. What will be on the table are one-year to three-year rolling contracts. The first two years after hire for full-time, non-temporary faculty hired after 2011 would be a one-year contract for each year, which is what faculty get right now; then two-year contracts for years three through six. At year six there would be an optional process to go through which would lead to a one-time payout and the start of three-year rolling contracts. This process still has to be determined.

The chancellor’s presentation to the board will be September 27, 2022. Before that, however, the chancellor will be hosting an Alamo Together Faculty Town Hall on zoom where faculty will have an opportunity to ask questions. That will be held on Friday, September 9 from 10am – 11am. Be checking your email for an announcement from district with details."

Update 09/27/2022 from Cindy Katz, Executive Faculty Council Faculty Fellow:

Attached you will find a copy of the memo that the EFC faculty members sent to the Board, Chancellor, and College Presidents. Since not everyone is familiar with the topics expressed in the memo, I will add clarifying statements below.

Clarifications to memo points:

(Introductory paragraph)
On May 17, 2022 the EFC New Era Tenure Ad Hoc Group presented a tenure model, which included utilizing multi-year contracts (MYC). The idea of multi-year contracts was brought up to the ad hoc group by the administration. In order to move forward, we worked out a way to include the MYC within a tenure model. EFC has never given up support of the tenure model with MYC as presented at the Board Meeting May 17^th.

We affirm that tenure is the best way to ensure these ideals.
We still stand behind our May 17^th presentation.
As was presented as part of the EFC proposal, though MYCs were a concession we made to administration.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has stated a challenge to tenure in the state, which some believe would put a target on ACD if we reinstated a tenure system.
We would like the board to make the decision on reinstating tenure and we still stand behind our presentation of May 17^th

👉 Read the complete resolution here: EFC Resolution Final 9-23-2022 memo.pdf

Cindy Katz (Pronouns: she/her)
EFC Faculty Fellow
Alamo Colleges District
ckatz@alamo.edu
210-486-2404 (Office)
Zoom meeting room: https://alamo.zoom.us/j/2104862404

Update from the Chancellor 10-18-22:

Dear ACD family,

The Alamo Colleges continuously strives to reach new heights in student success and performance excellence. Inclusive governance ensures that innovative ideas and perspectives are shared, and the best are implemented, bolstering our efforts to provide access to quality education and empower our students for success.

Executive Faculty Council (EFC), as a part of our inclusive governance model, engages in deep thinking and rich discussion leading to improved outcomes. As a part of its work, EFC proposed developing a new tenure plan for faculty hired since 2011. The Strategic Leadership Team (SLT) considered the request, and as an alternative, in April 2021, SLT encouraged EFC to explore implementation of Multi-Year Contracts for non-tenured faculty. Over the last 18 months, we worked together to expand our points of agreement. The EFC presented their proposal to the Alamo Colleges District Board of Trustees as an informational item at the Regular Board Meeting on May 17, 2022.

Following the presentation, the Board of Trustees voted to direct ACD to develop a proposal for the opportunity for full-time non-temporary faculty to qualify for annually renewed multi-year contracts by September 2022 for implementation in 2023-2024 academic year.

We hosted two virtual Alamo Colleges-wide summits to share the plan and solicit feedback on Friday, Sept. 9, and Friday, Sept. 16, with approximately 275 participants across the two summits. A Frequently Asked Questions page was also created, and all information was also posted for faculty to view in the AlamoSHARE portal.

On Sept. 27, 2022, we presented the Faculty Multi-Year Contract Plan, which was informed by the EFC presentation to the Board in May 2022 and the enhancements we developed together with EFC representatives in August 2022, to fulfill the charge as directed by the Board of Trustees.

This $2.8 million investment funds a best-in-class plan that provides 55% of our faculty with a multi-year contract option and allows the Alamo Colleges to recruit new faculty to preserve our rich history of providing accessible and exceptional instruction to our students. It also allows us to support our students’ journeys to obtain a credential, transfer, gain employment, and boost their economic and social mobility and encourages demonstration of the skills needed to support our students academically with incentives that help enrich the faculty experience.

Key features of this plan include:

Faculty Participation

All current and future full-time regular-status faculty are eligible to participate in the plan. Participation is optional and not required.
At year six of employment, full-time regular-status faculty may apply to be considered for Three-Year Multi-Year Faculty Contract Status.
No changes will be made to contract status of currently tenured faculty at any of the Alamo Colleges.

Faculty Contract Terms and Provisions

During the first six years of employment, each new full-time regular-status faculty member will be issued:

One-year annual term contracts, issued annually at the beginning of years one and two; and,
Two-year, rolling contracts, issued annually thereafter, at the beginning of years three through six.

The college district will continue to award rolling two-year contracts to faculty who do not apply for Three-Year Multi-Year Contract Status.

Recognition of Performance Excellence

The Three-Year Multi-Year Contract Status is intended to promote the development of faculty professional excellence to its highest level and achieve the highest levels of student success that faculty professional excellence creates through completion of the professional development requirements to attain Three-Year Multi-Year Faculty Contract (MYFC) Status.

To incentivize attainment of this high level of professional excellence, a one-time, lump-sum MYFC payment of $5,000 will be made to faculty at the time of appointment to their first Three-Year Multi-Year Faculty Contract.

Plan Implementation and Administration

To continue our collaboration and inclusive governance, the EFC has been asked to accept a charge from SLT to establish an Ad Hoc Committee to draft the processes, procedures, calendars, and timelines necessary to implement and operate the Multi-Year Faculty Contract Plan, to include:

a procedure and calendar for the application and awarding of Three-Year Faculty Multi-Year Contract Status; and,
a process and timeline to apply the start-up application and awarding procedure for faculty who would be immediately eligible to apply for Three-Year Faculty Multi-Year Contract Status due to 6+ years of qualifying employment; and,
measurable criteria to earn and retain contracts and Three-Year Multi-Year Contract Status that includes assessment of the faculty member's contribution to focused outcomes and KP ls; and, support for evolving core curriculum and future market demands; and,
procedure changes will be incorporated in an update of ACD Procedure D.2.5.5.

This plan as outlined, along with other substantial investments in faculty, is part of our larger Smart Growth and Smart Talent focus of making the most effective use of our resources to support the economic and social mobility of the members of our community and the success of our students. ACD has also invested in recent years in smart talent opportunities and enhancements for faculty including:

Approved budget with general wage increases for faculty and staff including faculty salary adjustments that align faculty base salaries to the latest Texas Community College Teachers Association survey results for pay at the largest Texas community college systems
Adoption of a phased approach to improving lab-loading compensation for faculty
Annual stipends of up to $4,388 for achievement of Promotion in Rank
Annual stipends of up to $30,000 for faculty teaching in high-wage, high-demand programs including healthcare, IT and manufacturing
Annual APPQMR Certification Stipends of $1,000 for faculty who become certified to teach on line
Two weeks of paid professional development and orientation for new faculty prior to starting work and ongoing development opportunities throughout the year

It is our hope that this investment, along with our other talent investments, will provide transformational change for students, their families and our local community. Thank you for your continued dedication and service each and every day.

At-Will Employment

At will employment describes the employment relationship between employers and employees in almost every state. At will employment means that the District does not offer tenured or guaranteed employment for any period of time to any employee without an employment contract or written direction from the Chancellor/President.

In at will employment, either the District or the employee can terminate the employment relationship at any time, with or without cause, with notice preferably. However, "Because we have at will employment" should not be used as a reason to fire an employee.

This does not mean that employers can arbitrarily fire employees without good faith communication, fairness, and non-discriminatory practices. Employers must demonstrate a good faith effort to correct the employee's performance or the other issues that led to employment termination.

For more information on at-will employment, please visit What is At-Will Employment?

For help using Alamo Share, please click here.